The Parting Gifts

The continued, immensely gratifying output of certain songwriters makes one wonder how do these songwriters remain, for the most part, off the radar of many music fans? Greg Cartwright is one such artist. His role within the canon of modern garage rock cannot be understated; it's worth wondering in what condition the genre would be if not for his work with the Oblivians and Reigning Sound? Cartwright teams up with Coco Hames (the Ettes, Coco Motion) for The Strychnine Dandelion, another classic, which was originally simply supposed to be a split-seven-inch. Cartwright's trademark sliding groove, with hints of dusty, soulful punk, is up for grabs in plentiful amounts. Teamed with Hames' playful vocals, tracks like "(Walking Through The) Sleepy City" and "Born To Be Blue" roll towards bombastic, heartfelt fruition. Still, it is Cartwright's husky drawl that keeps the greasy stomp of "Don't Hurt Me Now" alive and well. While the 15 tracks do weigh a little, at times, there is room for exploration. Many garage releases tend to be fairly cut and dry; Cartwright, however, finds depth within "Hanna" and "Bound To Let Me Down" that other songwriters may have overlooked. Rock'n'roll is still in desperate need of classically trained writers. The Strychnine Dandelion proves that Cartwright is up for the challenge and won't let you down.